1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for wireless connection between digital devices, and more particularly, to a method for automatically connecting a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) between digital devices, for allowing a user to conveniently use a WLAN, and a digital device therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unlike a wired LAN, which connects devices via conventional cables for communication, WLAN communication is performed through use of a radio frequency. WLAN communication modes include an infrastructure mode and an Ad-hoc mode. Infrastructure mode communication is performed over a connection between an Access Point (AP) and at least one client. Ad-hoc mode communication is performed over a direct connection between clients. Ad-hoc mode enables communication between digital devices that have WLAN interfaces but do not support an AP function.
In order to perform an Ad-hoc mode WLAN connection, a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and a security key for authentication and encryption are required, and an Internet Protocol (IP) address must be set for IP communication. In an Ad-hoc mode WLAN connection process, an SSID setting process and a security setting process are required. In the SSID setting process, since WLAN is used when several devices perform communication based on Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) by sharing a particular physical frequency band, an SSID is used to distinguish a network in the physical channel. More specifically, the SSID is an identifier used to distinguish between logical WLAN networks in a physical channel, which enables communication between nodes having the same SSIDs (e.g., between an AP and a client, or between clients with the same SSIDs). In order for certain nodes to communicate with each other using WLAN, each node must have the same SSID information.
WLAN communications are more vulnerable to security breaches than conventional wired networks, because WLAN communication includes wireless communication using a particular frequency. Therefore, in contrast to Wired LAN communication, authentication and encryption are often required. A WLAN authentication process includes allowing an authorized node or user to access WLAN, and is used to require transmitting and receiving nodes to encrypt data in a predetermined manner during communication, so that other nodes are prohibited from accessing data transmitted during the communication. In the Ad-hoc mode, open authentication and shared authentication are available, and authentication and encryption are performed according to a Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) standard. In order for certain nodes to communicate with each other using WLAN communication, each participating node uses the same authentication and encryption scheme. In Ah-hoc communications in particular, a WEP key is required.
In an IP address setting process, since WLAN communication uses a link layer of Layer 2 (L2) in an Open System Interconnection reference model (OSI) 7 layer, an IP address must be set in a WLAN interface for actual IP communication in Layer 3 (L3), which is the network layer. Generally, nodes participating in one broadcast domain must use IP addresses belonging to the same subnet for IP communication, and the IP should be unique within the broadcast domain. Each node can have multiple LAN cards or interfaces and multiple IPs, and each IP can belong to a different subnet.
A setting and connection procedure for performing a WLAN connection is described as follows with reference to FIG. 1. In step 100, a user checks a status of a WLAN and activates a WLAN interface, if the WLAN interface has not already been activated. If the user selects an Ad-hoc mode in step 105, the WLAN is set to the Ad-hoc mode in step 110. If the user inputs an SSID of the WLAN in step 115, the SSID of the WLAN is set in step 120. If the user inputs a security key of the WLAN in step 125, the security key of WLAN is set in step 130. If the user inputs an IP address in step 135, the IP address of the WLAN is set in step 140, and Ad-hoc communication is connected in step 145. As stated above, for in order to perform the WLAN connection, the user must input WLAN settings and connection information in each step.
Status information of a WLAN and activation of the WLAN interface are available through WLAN management software of an Operating System (OS). For example, a WLAN may be turned On/Off through use of the software. Therefore, a user must know how to operate the WLAN management software, and must have knowledge about the status of the WLAN interface. The user must also set the Ad-hoc mode, the SSID, and the WEP key using the WLAN management software of the OS. Generally, in order to set WLAN to the Ad-hoc mode and to input the SSID and the WEP key, the user must run the WLAN management software and then re-select an SSID and WEP setting menu and set the SSID and the WEP key on an input window within the WLAN management software. In order to set the Ad-hoc mode and to input the SSID and the WEP key, the user must have knowledge about WLAN and know how to operate the WLAN management software.
A node accessing the Internet is generally assigned an IP from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server using DHCP, i.e., the user uses an IP without directly setting the IP. By contrast, in Ad-hoc WLAN connection, an IP address must be directly set in a WLAN interface without using DHCP. Therefore, in order to set an IP address, the user must have knowledge about the IP address system and know how to operate IP address management software.
As described above, in order to set up a WLAN connection, the user must know how to use WLAN and IP address management software and have general knowledge about WLAN and IP. Using WLAN communication may be complicated for users who have no knowledge about WLAN and IP, or are unfamiliar with use of WLAN and IP address management software. However, the above-described information is not the information that the user must know in order to perform communication using an application connected to a WLAN, and the user's main purpose is to use the application after a WLAN connection has already been established. Accordingly, it is inefficient to require a user to input various information items for setting up a WLAN one at a time, which is very inconvenient for users who must often change WLAN settings due to frequent movement amongst various WLAN networks.